Thursday, January 25, 2007

Sponge danger

Ever wonder what sorts of nasty creatures might be lurking in your kitchen sponge? When doing the dishes I try not to think about such things and just hope that, with enough soap, I can overpower whatever bacteria my sponge might harbour.

Now, some crafty researchers of kitchen science have found a high tech yet readily available solution that will sterilize even the most contaminated cleaning aid in no time at all.

The answer, they report in the Journal of Environmental Health, is the common microwave. Researchers at the University of Florida found that zapping sponges on high power for 2 minutes kills more than 99 percent of bacteria, viruses, and spores on a sponge. And not just any sponge, but one that had been stewing in raw sewage!

If you try this at home, then make sure your sponge is plenty damp. When I tried cooking one for the full 10 minutes - the time they recommended to kill off every last spore - the microwaves started to burn a hole in my dried out sponge (see photo above). It seems I'm not the only one to experience this problem either.

Here's the press release (now with explicit warning to keep sponge wet and not to exceed 2 minutes…).

This is just getting silly!How many millions of people over the last hundred+ years have had no infections coming from their kitchens? If you took news items like this one and the barrage of antibacterial products as an indicator, you'd think we were all about to succomb as soon as we walked into our houses.If you're determined, just drop the sponge into the boiling water left over from your morning egg. It'll do the same thing--no need for a microwave.Even better, drop food on the floor regularly, pick it up, rinse it off and eat it. You won't need a microwave or the special UV light for your serving spoon cradle that destroys 99.2% of all common bacteria and you'll be healthier because your immune system will be sturdy.